Multifunctional umbrella cap

ABSTRACT

An umbrella cap comprising a cap body and a piston slidably mounted in a cylinder, said piston having a piston rod connected at one end to the inside bottom portion of said cap body and the cylinder is adapted for connection on the tip portion of an umbrella. When the umbrella is folded the cap body is moved upward and receives the umbrella ribs therein. Rainwater dripping from the umbrella is collected in the cap body.

United States Patent [1 Liu MULTIFUNCTIONAL UMBRELLA CAP Inventor: Hsing-Ching Liu, Taipei, China Assignees: I-Islng-Ching Liu; Wen-Sieh Chen,

both of Taipei, Taiwan, China Filed: Apr. 2, 1973 Appl. No.: 346,931

11.8. C1. 135/48 Int. Cl A451) 25/28 Field of Search 135/48, 44, 20, 25, 26

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1892 Thomas 135/48 4/1918 Frazer 3/1886 Ghezzi [111 3,809,107 [451 May 7,1974

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 590,030 3/1925 France 135/48 Primary Examiner-J. Karl Bell 5 7 ABSTRACT 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures -&

.PATENTED HAY 7 I974,

.HQIDR ART 2 ll/147 m lflllllllflwmm FIG. 4'

1 I MULTIFUNCTION AL UMBRELLA CAP FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a novel multifunctional umbrella cap which can be readily mounted on the tip of an umbrella for collecting and receiving the rain dripping down after the umbrella is closed; and more particularly, for retaining the end of the umbrella ribs when the said ribs of a collapsible umbrella have been folded.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, an umbrella cap is provided on the utmost tip of themain post of an umbrella which protrudes beyond the umbrella cover, and the sole function of the cap is to retain and protect the same. The

conventional umbrella however can cause the user embarrassment, particularly when the umbrella is closed,

since. rain adhered temporarily on the umbrella cover will slide along the folded seams and gradually down onto the ground, wetting the floor and even causing damage in the case of a carpet.

In order to eliminate the afore-mentioned drawback, the present invention provides a novel multifunctional umbrella cap which is simple in construction'and can readily be mounted on any kind of umbrella, and is especially suitable for a collapsible one.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The multifunctional umbrella cap according to the present invention comprises an inverted bell-like cap body in combination with a piston and cylinder. The piston has a piston rod which is fixed at one end to the inside central bottom of the said cap body. The piston itself is connected to the cylinder at one end by means of an union, and is slidably retained within the said cylinder. The cylinder at its end remote from the piston rod has a threaded portion for ready mounting on the tip portion of the main post of an umbrella. Thus, the said piston is retractable in relation to the said cylinder.

One object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional umbrella cap for collecting rainwater dripping down from the cover of an umbrella after the umbrella is closed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide folded.

Other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description with reference to accompanyingdrawings, in which:

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view depicting the umbrella cap of the prior art;

FIG. 2 is an elevational cross-section of one embodiment of the multifunctional umbrella cap according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view depicting the condition of the multifunctional umbrella cap of FIG. 2 mounted on the utmost tip portion of the umbrella.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3, but depicting the piston retractedintothe cylinder and the folded rib endsreceived into thecap body;

a multifunctional umbrella cap for retaining the rib ends of a collapsible umbrella when the said ribs are FIG. 5 is a perspective view'depicting the position of the multifunctional umbrella cap when the umbrella is closed; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 5 showing a collapsible umbrella folded.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference should be made to FIG. 1 which shows a cap 1 as in the prior art, on the tip portion 2 of an umbrella 3 which serves simply for retaining and protecting the same.

Now referring to FIG. 2 of the drawing, the multifunctional umbrella cap of the present invention comprises an inverted bell-like cap body 10 in combination with a piston 11 and a cylinder 12, which are all made of suitable material, such as plastic. Beneath substantially the central portion of the cap bottom, there is a nipple 13 formed. The said nipple 13 can be integrally formed with the cap body 10, or there may be provided a recess wherein there is inserted a mushroom-like tip 14 of elastic material for promoting the friction of tip 14 against the floor and preventing; the said tip 14 from damaging something. Further, a hole 15 is formed in the central bottom inside of the said cap body. The said hole 15 is preferably threaded.

The said piston 11 is provided with a piston rod 16 which has a male thread at one end remote from the head of the piston 11, so that the said end can be screwed and fixed into the said hole 15. The piston 11 itself is retained within the cylinder 12 by means of an union member 17. A stopper I8 is provided at the upper inside portion of the said cylinder 12. The length of the cylinder 12 in the portion under the said stopper 18 is almost the same as the length of the said piston rod 16. The cylinder 12 at its upper portion above the said stopper 18 has a threaded portion 19 also. The inner chamber 20 of the cap body, 10 is provided for collecting and receiving rainwater dripping down from the umbrella cover.

With construction mentioned above, the piston 11 is slidably retracted or extended inside of the cylinder 12. The cap body 10, which is connected with the said piston 11, moves together with it up and down in relation to the cylinder 12.

The multifunctional umbrella cap of the present invention can be readily mounted on the umbrella. All that has to be done is to screw out the conventional cap as shown in FIG. 1, andtlien screw the naked tip portion 2 into the threaded top portion 1 9 of the said cylinder 12 in the position as shown in FIG. 3. The whole appearance is illustrated in FIG. 5,'wherein the rain adhered temporarily on the umbrella cover 5 will drip down gradually into the cap body 10 and be retained in the inner chamber 20 thereof.

Further, FIG. 4 illustrates the piston 11 and piston rod 16 in the retractedposition, i.e.., movedupwards in the said cylinder 12,whereby the capbody 10 is also moved upwards in relation to the said cylinder 12. Therefore the ends 4 of all folded ribs are received into the wide mouth of the inverted bell-like capbody 10 ing rainwater dripping down from an umbrella cover.

3. The umbrella cap according to claim 2, wherein the said. piston is retractable with respect to the said 2. The umbrella cap according to claim, 1, wherein the said piston is extendable with respect to the said cylinder when the umbrella is closed moving said cap body therewith to a position for collecting and receivcylinder, causing the cap body connected to the piston to rise therewith in relation to the said cylinder to a position adapted to retain the ends of all folded ribs of a collapsible umbrella.

4. The umbrella cap according to claim 1, wherein the underside of the bottom portion of the said cap body has an elastic member therein.-

5. The umbrella cap according to claim 2, wherein the cap body is in the form of an inverted bell. 

1. An umbrella cap comprising a cap body in combination with a piston and a cylinder, the said piston having a piston rod which is fixed at one end to the inside bottom portion of the said cap body, the said piston being connected to the said cylinder by means of an union and being slidably retained within the said cylinder, and the said cylinder at an end remote from the piston rod having a threaded portion for mounting on a tip portion of an umbrella.
 2. The umbrella cap according to claim 1, wherein the said piston is extendable with respect to the said cylinder when the umbrella is closed moving said cap body therewith to a position for collecting and receiving rainwater dripping down from an umbrella cover.
 3. The umbrella cap according to claim 2, wherein the said piston is retractable with respect to the said cylinder, causing the cap body connected to the piston to rise therewith in relation to the said cylinder to a position adapted to retain the ends of all folded ribs of a collapsible umbrella.
 4. The umbrella cap according to claim 1, wherein the underside of the bottom portion of the said cap body has an elastic member therein.
 5. The umbrella cap according to claim 2, wherein the cap body is in the form of an inverted bell. 